Google Dangles Free WiFi for U.S. Flights via Chrome

In an interesting promotion for its Chrome Web browser, Google said Nov. 8 it is offering free WiFi Internet access on U.S. flights via AirTran, Virgin America and Delta.

Google Nov. 8 joined forces with airlines AirTran, Delta and Virgin America
to offer free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi Internet access on every domestic flight from
November 20, 2010
through January 2, 2011.
The news marks a change from and expansion of Google's free holiday WiFi
offer last year.

Google first offered free WiFi in October 2009, when it contracted with
Virgin America to enable free WiFi on every domestic Virgin America flight from
Nov. 10, 2009,
through Jan. 15, 2010.

Google expanded the popular program a month later, offering free WiFi
in 47 airports across the U.S.
thanks to the help of Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport
Marketing Income and others.
This year, Google's Chrome Web browser group got the nod to promote the
offer on this Web
page, where it conveniently offers users a link to download Chrome.
"Not too long ago, flying home for the holidays meant disconnecting for
several hours until you touched down at your destination," said Sundar
Pichai, Google'c vice president of product management for Chrome. "Today,
WiFi technologies allow us to stay connected even at 30,000 feet above the
ground, so we can read the news, browse the Web and send that last-minute
planning e-mail before the family reunion."

What Pichai didn't say-but what is obvious from the download offer on the
FreeholidayWiFi Web page-is that Google would love those flyers to use the free
WiFi to access Websites from Chrome via laptops or tablet computers.
Chrome has 70 million users for an 8.5 percent market share, compared with almost
60 percent for Microsoft Internet Explorer and 23 percent for Mozilla Firefox.
That's not a bad chunk of market share considering Chrome is just 2.5 years
old-but Google wished it had more users for all of its work and fairly
aggressive advertising of the application on ESPN.com, The New York Times and other destinations of note.
Moreover, RockMelt just launched to challenge Chrome and other browser makers with a
social approach to Web browsing.